All posts tagged: sweden

We already discussed buying single private properties, now let’s talk about buying more than one, and of course, renting them out (Sweden). Today our guest is Thomas Brandt, who 17 years ago used his profits derived from his IT consulting firm to purchase four apartments house in Örebro. Today Brandt owns about 250 apartments and runs his own business known as Explicar Affärsutveklirebrong AB. We met Thomas at his office in Stockholm and talked about how to invest, start and run a property management company. How did you start? 17 years ago I realized that the economic climate within the IT industry was becoming stagnant. And because I made some money in the past with my IT firm, I decided to invest in stable, profit-generating long-term assets. So, since I had relatives who owned and operated properties, I decided myself to buy some as well—in Örebro. I knew nothing about property management at the time. Where do you buy? Because I don’t have hundreds of millions in my accounts, I buy houses in relatively smaller cities, …

We all have busy lives and there is no changing that perception until retirement. It’s just a plain fact that today’s society demands everything in an instant, so who really has the time to wait, especially when it comes to grabbing a “quick” healthy bite to eat. Here in Stockholm “grab-and-go” meals are limited. Even worse is that many Stockholmers may have food allergies, be vegetarians, or even diabetic and simply cannot eat what is available Sushirullen STHLM AB Founded 2012 -10- 01 Launched 2013-11-02 Founders Johan Falk (32 years old) and Margarita Falk (30 years old) First investment 400 000 sek Locations Drottninggatan 70, Stockholm, Sweden Nybrogatan 18, Stockholm, Sweden (grand opening 13-06-2014) Sergels torget (stay updated, coming soon) Amount of employees 12 http://www.sushirullen.se/ Do not miss free sushi rolls on 13 th of June from 12:00 till 16:00 at Nybrogatan 18. Meet the Falk family—two young and inspiring entrepreneurs who’s Sushirullen (the sushi roll) concept has become a great alternative for thousands of on-the-go Stockholmers. The fast food industry is ready to be changed! …

“Never say never, because limits, like fears, are often just an illusion.”― Michael Jordan Even though it was two years ago, I still have tears in my eyes when I think about that 5 km run on a chilly May day in Stockholm. *** The story began many years ago in my mother country, Russia, when my doctor cautioned me to not run or partake in any physical training. For an active kid like me it was quite harsh to accept. Even my parents, for my own good, took away my bike and roller blades! I remember that day clearly, so clear that I still see that bright white medical coat with the name badge reading ”Surgeon Ivanov.” “You will never run”, – I heard again and again. At the age of eleven, I developed a strange disease called phlebeurysm on my right leg. It looked so awful that I wouldn’t wear shorts or skirts for the following nine years, and I constantly wore bandages on my one leg to reduce pain. At age …

Previously known as “Good Morning” but now renamed “Start-up Day,” the Stockholm School of Entrepreneurship organizes this one-day event where it gathers entrepreneurs with and without experience as well as attracting various investors, students, and motivational speakers—all on three different scenes. Being curious and looking for new opportunities, contacts, and of course inspiration, I decided to visit the event once again. I attended it four years ago and still remember the summing-up speech by Magnus Lindkvist. “Start-ups I believe in” This year the event took place 26 th of April 2014 at Munchenbryggeriet. I was a bit disappointed with the Start-Up Day event. In fact the only speech “Start-ups I believe in”that I feel worth mentioning came from Hampus Jakobsson—a truly inspirational and successful entrepreneur as well as a happy father of three. Hampus is theco-founder and CEO at Brisk.io—a project that is currently operating under the Creandum family*. Earlier in his career when he was co-founder of a software licensing company known as The Astonishing Tribe, he was responsible for shipping over 500 million …

In Sweden, declaration (tax returns) time has come again. Every citizen earning an income, recently received a large yellow form from a local taxation office reminding us to submit all sources of revenue, as well as expenditures. This year my income consisted of the usual source—my job and the firm that I own. However, there was a new entry included among my income sources—revenue from rising stock shares! The value of my portfolio rose 19% from last year. Smart girl! How smart women invested in 2013? “How smart women invest,” for me, was an interesting experience. Back in November of 2013, a friend of mine invited me to a seminar. It was more or less a breakfast meeting comprised of smart women, and Barbara Stewart, a researcher and portfolio manager from Canada, travelled here to Stockholm to share her financial insight and wisdom. The event was organized by NASDAQ OMX. Barbara, an elegant and charming woman, revealed to us information about what motivates smart women to invest, and how they make an investment decision. For her research, she talked to 100 …

A special for you today with some tips on how to avoid debt hole after Christmas celebration, how to manage your fears, think wisely and make good presents without great expenses. All cultures have different traditions of celebrating Christmas. Even the days differ: Swedes celebrate the 24th of December, USA and UK on 25 th, Russia and Greece go nuts as usual and celebrate on 6th and 7th of January. The traditions of giving the presents on Christmas also vary. While Swedes are very overly generous when distributing Christmas presents compared to other countries, Svenska Dagbladet (SvD) recently published an article about the dangerous situations that arise as a result of giving gifts in the Christmas spirit. The following quote stuck out to me especially: “20% of people, according SvD, are ready to take a credit in the bank to buy Christmas presents.” Idiots! (It makes me angry! I simply cannot tolerate stupidity). I have nothing against generosity, but I have a lot of against the stupidity of people that allows them to put themselves into debt hole. All because of certain …

This Thusday TEDx Stockholm was holding an event “Embracing failure” in the heart of Östermalm at Grev Turegatan 30. Life as an Investment visited this event in order to get some new viewpoints on the “failure” from very inspiring speakers: Johan Ernst Nilson – “environmental explorer”, Tor Rauden Källstigen -CEO & Founder of Loopcam and Mona Sahlin a former Minister of Labor and Deputy Prime Minister in Sweden. All the speakers had something to say and share but the most memorable, logical and clearly formulated points were by Johan Ernst Nilson. Here are some notes that were taken during his speech: 1. Always define your goals. There is very thin line between your dreams and your goals. By giving your dreams a definition, they became goals, and therefore they become achievable. 2. Learn from other people’s mistakes. It is cheaper, easier and less painful. 3. Postpone the success for the later time. If you did not achieve the goal today as you planned, tell yourself, “I have not lost; I just postponed the result I want till the later …